The next level of hierarchy can be:

      •Strategic architecture – describes the entire company. At this level, you are not immersed in the peculiarities of specific departments, business areas, etc. The strategic architecture focuses on the company’s overall strategies, business processes, investments, data, systems and technologies. Its primary focus is the implementation of the company’s strategy. At this level, principles and priorities are defined, the common IT services are created for the whole company.

      • Segment architecture is the architecture of the company’s activities, the program of projects or a separate subdivision. The company will have several segments like this. At this level, you are immersed in the peculiarities and requirements of a particular subdivision, function, or company within an organization. You study the IT business case with departmental leadership. The segment architecture should have the same structure and shared services as the strategic architecture does.

      • Solution architecture is the architecture of a specific IT solution. It is used to implement new or adjust the current IT solutions, services or their parts. It considers both the common requirements for the entire company and the specific needs identified at the segment architecture level. The solution architecture is limited to a single project, process, or function. The solution architecture is studies in the most thorough way. It allows avoiding unpleasant surprises in the future as the project is implemented.

      IT maturity levels

      In the organization grows and develops, the IT department also goes through several stages of its development. Building an Enterprise Architecture one should take into account the maturity level of the entire organization and IT in particular. The following stages and symptoms of the IT department state can be distinguished:

      Initial or “localization”

      The company rapidly develops or purchases information systems that give value to a particular business unit or function. The main symptoms of this stage of development are:

      • IT department is secondary;

      • No IT department strategy;

      • No IT department budget;

      • IT department acts upon request only;

      • Managerial staff is concerned in maximum savings;

      • Service within the business department (administration, finance) in the organizational structure of the company.

      Development or “standardization”

      The company moves from closure of the needs of individual business units or functions and increases IT efficiency by standardizing technology and infrastructure. The main symptoms of this stage of development: are:

      • The IT department is not a strategic resource;

      • No or initial level of IT department strategy;

      • No IT department budget or it is managed by the third party;

      • IT department hardly acts in IT infrastructure or acts passively (upon request only);

      • Managerial staff is concerned in minimum investment;

      • Service or department within the business unit (administration, finance) or overseen position in the organizational structure of the company.

      Establishment or “optimization”

      The company builds end-to-end business processes using common data and information systems. Whenever possible, it centralizes subdivisions’ business processes and functions in centralized information systems according to previously described operational models. The main symptoms of this stage of development are:

      • The IT department is important;

      • IT department strategy partially meets business requirements;

      • Manageable IT department budget;

      • IT department responses reactively to business requirements;

      • Managerial staff is concerned in getting business benefits in the short term;

      • A dedicated department in the organizational structure of the company, but the IT manager is not a part of the board of directors.

      Mature

      Reuse of existing business processes and components to create new services and opportunities. Proactive IT is an integral part of the business. The main symptoms of this stage of development are:

      • The IT department is a strategic organization resource;

      • IT department strategy integrated into the company’s business strategy;

      • IT department budget considered as business investment;

      • IT department acts proactively to business requirements;

      • Managerial staff is concerned in long-term business investment;

      • IT department is a part of the company’s organizational structure, CIO is a member of the board of directors.